Network access technologies such as cable, DSL and satellite can be used to provide broadband services to homes and small businesses. However, the performance of each of these technologies can be inconsistent. For example, performance may be affected by weather conditions and network use by other subscribers. Further, the current generation of residential gateways, set top boxes and other broadband Customer Premises Equipment (“CPE”) do not adequately support provision of a quantifiable Quality of Experience (“QoE”). One problem inhibiting deployment of equipment and services capable of maintaining QoE metrics is that relatively tight coupling of services, protocols, applications and network management are required to guarantee QoE. Such tight coupling is impractical when, as is currently the case, subscriber devices are viewed as insecure by service providers, and hence not trusted.
Another problem inhibiting deployment of equipment and services capable of maintaining QoE metrics in the home is that DiffServ-based QoS is basically static. Currently, a typical broadband home may have video, voice and data sessions managed by a single DiffServ algorithm. That single DiffServ algorithm is not typically capable of maintaining QoE when a subscriber employs multiple premium sessions with multiple applications. Similarly, numerous instances of sessions with multiple applications is problematic. Similarly, changing the set of premium sessions to another set over time is problematic.